Market Your Self-Published Book

One of the most exciting things I do is self-publish books. A few months ago I wrote a couple of Kindle books. I got one uploaded before having a computer crash and losing a lot of drafts. Talk about a set back. But all things work together for the good, right?

The lesson to me was to get on with it when I get a book completed. Get it published and up it where the public can find it. The last book I published was Bold Creativity. I wrote it as a two-part series on creativity for the professional person in business. It’s only $2.99 o Kindle to take a look if that’s an area of interest.

But what about you? Are you putting your words on paper, getting them published and letting the world enjoy them? If not, it might be time for you to consider this idea. One of the best ways to start promoting yourself as a professional is to publish. It doesn’t have to be a long book. The Bold Creativity is only about 51 pages, and some books on Kindle or ebooks are even shorter.

That means you don’t have to write a lot. Just go for quality over quantity. After it gets written you want people to find it. Here are a few good marketing ideas to bring your written work to the light.

1: HARO

Get on the “Help a Reporter Out (HARO)” list. I really like this list and have put in requests for speakers on my radio show, Seasoned Women Health Radio, and answered requests from reporters for a speaker. This site is often overlooked because people aren’t quite sure how to use it. Go over there and study some of the requests. See how many you could fit. You’d be surprised. Be prepared to send a .pdf copy of your book or an excerpt if you want to discuss this online. HARO is a great opportunity to get the word out about what you’re doing.

2. Promote Yourself

As a business professional you can’t be shy about promoting yourself. If you have book to share, you need to be proud of it. That means letting people know what you have to offer. If you publish a Kindle book or a soft cover using CreateSpace you will have an Amazon page. That’s pretty big. I have probably three or four already and have a goal to get several more up this year. Set your goal to get an Amazon page if you don’t have one by publishing your book. Then start blogging, talking, speaking, and doing everything else you can to get the word out and ASK people to buy.

3. Write Your Own Book Review

First of all, write a dynamic book review on your own site on Amazon. That’s a huge place for eyeballs to possibly see your book. I say “possibly” because you have to drive traffic there to get readers. So start talking it up alright? Go to book review sites and get your book uploaded. Many of these sites are for authors who want to self promote. Then of course, write another powerful self review. Here are two sites for book reviews. I haven’t had a chance to review all of them but you can check them out. If you find out how to get on one of them let us know in the comments section.

http://www.shelfari.com

Here’s where you could actually become a reviewer for books. If you get to post your name it can drive traffic to your blog and your book.

http://www.tbrnetwork.com/content/reviewer.asp

Look up other book review sites to see where you can submit your book.

4. Donate a copy

I’ve donated a copy of my book “Yes, You CAN Succeed Online” to several silent auctions for non-profits. I usually couple that with the chance to get a 30 minutes free coaching session or maybe to review an ebook or something similar. This has been a great way to get some notoriety as well as new clients.

5. So Some Speaking

It’s not too difficult to be a speaker at local women’s groups or business clubs. Most are looking for new speakers each month. As part of your talk, take your book to sell. I used to gather business cards by doing a drawing for my book. But I found that people won’t buy a copy until the drawing because they might win the book. Then the meeting is over and they leave. Instead, I announce I have my new book with me for sale at the beginning of my talk. Someone will usually be wiling to go around selling the book while you speak. Then do a drawing for a free business strategy session or another item. Works much better to increase book sales!

These are some of ways I’ve tried to make book sales that have worked. You have to get exposure for your book to generate sales. Don’t expect your sales to come to you. With self-publishing, you really do have to hustle and create buzz to get things going.

What have you done to promote your book? Leave some ideas in the comments below.